Sir William Patey Discusses Reintegration in Ghor

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

Ghor, located in central Afghanistan near the province of Herat, has a population of around 600,000, of whom the majority are Tajiks with strong Hazara and Pashto minorities.

They discussed progress of the Afghan Peace and Reintegration Programme (APRP), the Afghan programme which seeks to reintegrate former Taliban into their communities. The programme is supported by the UK government and other international partners. Sir William also discussed development and security issues with the Governor.

While Ghor is not currently designated as a priority province for the APRP, Governor Haiwad and his Provincial team are enthusiastic and keen to help candidates through the reintegration process. Since January this year 22 former insurgents have successfully enrolled with the programme. Major General Phil Jones from the ISAF Force Reintegration Cell attended the meetings in order to monitor progress and explore future reintegration opportunities. Nationwide, over 1700 insurgents have joined the programme.

On development, Afghan authorities are being supported by the US Military Commander’s Emergency Response Programme and the Japanese government to provide development projects, including hospital refurbishment, orphanage and girls’ school construction, road building, justice sector support and civil service administrative capacity building. Plans are also being discussed to harness Ghor’s water supply and build a power station to provide electricity to the population.

Despite Ghor being one of Afghanistan’s poorer provinces, the security situation is relatively stable. There is one Afghan National Army company and the National Police control four checkpoints in the provincial capital. The Provincial Reconstruction Team also run training programmes for the Army and Police, with a view to enabling Ghor to undergo a sustainable transition to Afghan security control.

Ghor, located in central Afghanistan near the province of Herat, has a population of around 600,000, of whom the majority are Tajiks with strong Hazara and Pashto minorities.

It is a largely mountainous province, bisected by the Hari Rud and Jam Rud rivers. It is home to the Minaret of Jam, built in 1194 and thought to be one of the only existing remnants of the ancient capital ‘Firuzkoh’ or ‘Turquoise Mountain.’ Governor Haiwad works in the provincial capital of Chaghcheran.

Our thanks go to Governor Haiwad and his team for such a hospitable welcome and inviting us for discussion. Thanks also to Commander Nerijus Stankevicius at the Lithuanian Provincial Reconstruction Team for providing assets and making our visit possible.

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